pack¹ / pak/ • n. 1. a small cardboard or paper container and the items contained within it: a pack of cigarettes. ∎  a set of playing cards. ∎  a knapsack or backpack. ∎  a collection of related documents, esp. one kept in a folder: an information pack. ∎  (often the pack) a quantity of fish, fruit, or other foods packed or canned in a particular season or year.2. a group of wild animals, esp. wolves, living and hunting together. ∎  a group of hounds kept and used for hunting, esp. fox hunting. ∎  an organized group of Cub Scouts. ∎  (the pack) the main body of competitors following the leader or leaders in a race or competition: fig. the company was demonstrating the kind of innovations needed to keep it ahead of the pack. ∎ chiefly derog. a group or set of similar things or people: the reports were a pack of lies. ∎ short for pack ice. ∎  Rugby a team's forwards considered as a group.3. a hot or cold pad of absorbent material, esp. as used for treating an injury. ∎ a cosmetic mask.• v. [tr.] fill (a suitcase or bag), esp. with clothes and other items needed when away from home: I packed a bag with a few of my favorite clothes | [intr.] she had packed and checked out of the hotel. ∎  place (something) in a container, esp. for transportation or storage: I packed up my stuff and drove to Detroit. ∎  [intr.] be capable of being folded up for transportation or storage: these silver foil blankets pack into a small area. ∎  (pack something in) store something perishable in (a specified substance) in order to preserve it: the organs were packed in ice. ∎ inf. carry (a gun): a sixteen-year-old can make a fortune selling drugs and pack a gun in the process. ∎  (often be packed) cram a large number of things into (a container or space): it was a large room, packed with beds jammed side by side. ∎  [often as adj.] (packed) (of a large number of people) crowd into and fill (a room, building, or place): the waiting room was packed. ∎  cover, surround, or fill (something): he packed the wounds with healing malaguetta. ∎  [intr.] Rugby (of players) form or take their places in a scrum: we often packed down with only seven men.PHRASES: pack heat inf. carry a gun.pack it in inf. stop what one is doing.pack a punch be capable of hitting with skill or force: Rosie could pack a hefty punch. ∎  have a powerful effect: the Spanish wine packed quite a punch.send someone packing inf. make someone leave in an abrupt or peremptory way.PHRASAL VERBS: pack something in inf. give up an activity or job.pack someone off inf. send someone somewhere without much warning or notice: they packed me off to the academy in Baltimore.pack something out carry something away rather than leaving it behind (used esp. with respect to refuse at remote campsites): pack out any garbage you have left.DERIVATIVES: pack·a·ble adj.pack² • v. [tr.] fill (a jury, committee, etc.) with people likely to support a particular verdict or decision: his efforts to pack the Supreme Court with men who shared his ideology.

Pack

a bundle of things enclosed or tied together; a company or set of persons; a large collection or set of things; a number of animals. See also bolt, bundle.

Examples : pack of books; of coal (3 Winchester bushels); of complaints, 1862; of dogs, 1648; of fish (set out in piles to dry), 1800; of fools; of grouse, 1688; of heresies, 1638; of hounds, 1735; of ice, 1791; of icebergs; of Jews, 1548; of knaves, 1693; of lies, 1763; of mules; of nonsense, 1880; of perch; of playing cards, 1597; of ptarmigans, 1862; of rebels, 1562; of schoolboys, 1885; of sorrows, 1591; of stars, 1633; of stoats; of superstitions; of thieves, 1698; of weasels; of witches; of wolves, 1795.

pack To store compactly in order to reduce the amount of memory required to hold the same data. There are several ways of doing this, for example by storing several bytes in one word or by replacing multiple occurrences of a character or word by a triplet consisting of

(a) a special code indicating the start of a triplet;

(b) a single instance of the replicated character or word;

(c) a count of the number of times the character or word occurs.

pack2 †make a plot; †bring into a plot; make up (a jury, etc.) for a wrong purpose; shuffle (cards) fraudulently. XVI. perh. f. †pact vb. (f. PACT sb.) by apprehending the final -t as an inflexion.

pack1 bundle, bale XIII; company, set of people XIV; set of playing-cards XVI; company of animals kept or herding together XVII. — (M)Du., (M)LG. pak; of unkn. orig.
So pack vb. XIV. — (M)Du., (M)LG. pakken. Hence package XVII.